One day after the Aussies experienced a wipeout, it was better news for Australian tennis on Day 5 in Miami as three men progressed to the third-round.
Adam Walton [Lucky Loser] def. Luciano Darderi 6-4 6-4
Jordan Thompson def. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard [28] 7-6(4) 7-6(1)
Alex de Minaur [10] def. Yunchaokete Bu 6-4 6-4
Roman Safiullin def. Alexei Popyrin [25] 6-7(4) 6-3 7-5
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Despite losing in the final round of qualifying to compatriot Tristan Schoolkate on Wednesday, Adam Walton was handed a lifeline by accepting a Lucky Loser spot in the main draw.
Not only that, the 25-year-old also received the luxury of earning a first-round bye thanks to Hubert Hurkacz's No.22 seed, the player Walton replaced.
"I needed a few of the higher seeds [in qualifying] to win to be [closer] to a Lucky Loser," he said after defeating Italy's Luciano Darderi in straight sets. "Everything that went wrong could've went wrong, so then I end up being four out [from gaining a Lucky Loser spot], so I just thought there was no way I was going to get in.
"Then a couple of pull-outs [occur] the first day that I signed, so I moved up to two. I was meant to be playing in Mexico, so I'm looking at flights, thinking, 'When am I going to go?' I wanted to get a good week of practice in if I could.
"Then I end up being one out by the third day, and I'm like, 'I've gotta keep hanging around here just in case', and then when I was walking in yesterday, I saw Hubi Hurkacz not looking 100 per cent, and I was like, 'Maybe it's my chance right there'.
"I was hitting yesterday [when] my Apple watch went off; it was the ATP guy, and it said 'Hello Adam'.
"That's all the message said: 'Hello Adam...', and I wrote back 'Hi?' with a question mark, but he didn't say anything for 20 minutes, and I was like, "Oh, well this is the biggest tease ever'. Then he messaged that Hubi pulled, and I got in. I was just stoked to have another chance."
The draw has now opened up for the Queenslander, who will next face Hong Kong talent Coleman Wong after stunning Ben Shelton in three sets.
Jordan Thompson backed up his impressive come-from-behind win against Marcos Giron with a gutsy victory over big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard to prevail.
Having been broken in the second set with the match seeming destined for a decider, Thompson came up clutch to break back in what was a pivotal turning point.
"That was massive. That's nearly set over with him," Thompson said when reflecting on breaking back midway through the second set. "It just gave me a lot of energy and I felt like I got onto his serve a little bit better for the rest of the match."
It doesn't get easier for Thompson as world No.2 Alexander Zverev stands in his way of a round of 16 berth.
Zverev, a three-time Slam finalist, won their previous meeting last year in a 6-1 6-1 demolition, but Thompson shares a 2-2 head-to-head record against the German, which included a win for the Sydneysider in the 2024 Los Cabos semi-finals en-route to claiming the ATP 500 title.
"I kind of looked back to [the Los Cabos match], and he chopped me one and one, wasn't my best day at the office, and he had a good day, but I hope I play better than the last time we played," said Thompson.
Rebounding after a disappointing fourth-round exit at Indian Wells last week, Alex de Minaur returned to winning ways, albeit breaking serve against Yunchaokete Bu in the 10th game of both sets.
"I'm very happy with that level today, it was a very tough match against a very dangerous, high-quality opponent," said de Minaur post-match.
"I did exactly what I needed to do; I thought I executed really well, and when I needed to, I found some big points which gave me the crucial breaks in both sets."
Meanwhile, Alexei Popyrin continues his rough start to 2025, bowing out to the unseeded Roman Safiullin, marking the seventh consecutive tournament in which the world No.26 has failed to surpass the second-round.
Shortly after his narrow defeat, Popyrin announced to The First Serve that he had appointed a two-time Australian Open semi-finalist and former world No.6 as his new coach.
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